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Many area students enjoyed a break from school over spring vacation, but BASIS Independent McLean (BIM) French students decided to take their break in Senegal, far from their classroom, but still deeply immersed in an enriching, educational experience of a lifetime. World travel is an optional opportunity for BIM students looking to take their education outside their textbooks and familiar settings. Senegal not only gave French students an immersive environment in the French language, but also provided them a new cultural and societal viewpoint of life outside of McLean, Va. For more information on the school, go to http://mclean.basisindependent.com.

As part of the cultural experience, BIM students visited a Senegalese school, and have since started pen-pal relationships. Inspired to support others’ education, BIM students also donated reading glasses, clothing and academic scholarships for seven highly-qualified students. They also visited wildlife areas and had an emotional experience at Goree Island learning about the history of the slave trade.

Next year, BASIS Independent McLean’s Spanish instructor, Dr. Isquith, will be leading a student trip to the Galapagos Islands.

“I love the fact that our school can give our students the opportunity to visit places like Senegal,” said Elisabeth Seye, French instructor at BASIS Independent McLean of McLean, Va. “It’s important that our experience and understanding of language also include the rich culture that surrounds it, and that students can put into context what they’ve learned in class…I was thrilled to watch our students become citizens of the world,” said Seye.

ABOUT BASIS INDEPENDENT MCLEAN, VA: BASIS was founded in 1998 by Dr. Michael and Olga Block, world-class economists and academics, who developed a formula for success for every child by offering a rigorous, globally competitive liberal arts and science curriculum taught by passionate subject-expert teachers and supported by a culture of excellence. What began as a single campus in Tucson, Ariz. has grown to become a unique, high-achieving, network of schools with three independent, private schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., Silicon Valley and Fremont in Calif., and now in McLean, Va., with an international school in Shenzhen, China, and 16 public charter schools across the United States. Today, BASIS.ed students have propelled their schools to become the top ranked in the nation. BASIS Independent McLean is located at 8000 Jones Branch Drive in McLean, Va. Visit them at http://mclean.basisindependent.com, Facebook, Twitter @BASISIndMcLean or YouTube channel, BASIS Independent Schools.